Shirakawa led Taeyeon straight to Area 13, stopping in front of Shakky's Rip-off Bar. He looked at the building with a touch of nostalgia.
"Five years already, and this place hasn't changed a bit."
Though, judging by all the patched-up spots on the walls, plenty of people had caused trouble here over those five years.
"Captain, why'd you bring me to a bar?" Taeyeon asked, a little confused. She was underage, after all. Bringing a minor to a bar—wasn't that basically setting her up to go down the wrong path?
"Relax. They serve juice here too, not just alcohol."
Shirakawa smiled, then pushed the door open and walked in. A few tables were occupied. Shakky was behind the counter, and someone else was sitting on the other side of it.
"Welcome." Shakky greeted him out of habit, but the moment her eyes landed on Shirakawa's face, she froze.
Seeing her stunned expression, Shirakawa found it a little amusing and spoke up.
"Long time no see, Shakky. Rayleigh."
"Hm?" At the sound of that familiar voice, the figure sitting with his back to the door flinched. Then he turned around, his face lighting up with excitement when he saw Shirakawa.
Right—the man sitting at the counter with his back to the entrance was none other than Silvers Rayleigh, the Dark King.
"Shirakawa, you brat. You're back again?"
Seeing Shirakawa sit down beside him, Rayleigh gave him a playful punch to the chest.
"Heh. It's because I've set out to sea again."
"Is that so?" Rayleigh's eyes widened slightly, a little surprised.
"Of course." Shirakawa grinned. "My crew can handle anything the sea throws at us now."
"And what's with this little girl? Don't tell me she's part of your crew too."
Shakky handed Taeyeon a glass of juice and directed the question at Shirakawa.
"That's right." Shirakawa answered without hesitation.
Taeyeon murmured a quiet "thank you."
"Seriously? You're taking on a crewmate that young?" Shakky's eyes went wide, like a pair of copper bells.
"So, what did you come here for?" Rayleigh asked.
"What, I can't come see you without a reason?"
Shirakawa shot back. Did he really seem like the type who never showed up without an ulterior motive?
"Of course you can. But something tells me you've got a purpose this time."
"Hah, as expected of Rayleigh. You hit the nail on the head. I'll get straight to it, then."
"Mm."
"I hear you're working as a coating mechanic now?"
"Word travels fast. I've only been at it a little while, and you've already found out."
"Heh, what can I say? Look who you're dealing with."
"So you came all this way just to get me to coat your ship?"
"Not entirely, no. The main reason is I wanted to come see you."
"Heh. The thought's enough for me. But since you've come begging, I suppose I'll be generous and help you out."
Shirakawa blinked at Rayleigh's words. When did I ever beg him?
As for why Shirakawa had come to Rayleigh for help—it was because he trusted the man. He knew Rayleigh would never screw him over.
"So when do you plan to set sail?" Rayleigh asked.
"No rush. At least a couple days, maybe three. So, Rayleigh, just get the coating done within three days and we're good."
"I see."
After their exchange, Rayleigh took a good, long look at Shirakawa. And in that moment, he felt something—an unfathomable depth to the man sitting beside him.
"Oh?" Rayleigh murmured.
"What's wrong?" Shirakawa asked.
"What level would you say your strength is at now?" Rayleigh asked, genuinely curious.
Five years ago, Shirakawa had already been strong, but back then Rayleigh could clearly sense what tier his power belonged to.
Just now, however, when Rayleigh tried to sense him, he found his own Observation Haki sinking into Shirakawa like it was being swallowed by the sea itself. Bottomless. Unfathomable.
"I'm not sure myself. Want to test it out personally?"
"Let's not." Rayleigh refused on the spot. Though this time, the reason behind the refusal was different from five years ago.
Back then, Rayleigh didn't want to reveal his own strength. Now, he wasn't certain he could beat Shirakawa.
If he won, fine. But if he lost… where would that leave his dignity?
"Alright." Shirakawa sounded a little disappointed. It looked like testing his strength would have to wait until he ran into a worthy opponent in the New World.
"I'll get going then. I'll come visit when I have time."
Shirakawa told Rayleigh. He still had to take Taeyeon around the Sabaody Archipelago, after all.
"Yeah." Rayleigh replied simply.
"That kid's changed a lot." Shakky remarked once Shirakawa had walked out the door.
"He has. He's earned the right to roam the New World now."
Rayleigh said, feeling a bit sentimental himself. Time really did fly. He still remembered the way Shirakawa looked when he first boarded his ship—a little weakling who couldn't even take a single blow from him.
But now, that boy had become someone who could stand toe-to-toe with him. Maybe even beyond.
"Captain, who were those two? You seem really close with them."
Taeyeon asked curiously.
"One of them is kind of my old captain. You could say he's both a teacher and a friend. A big part of why I'm this strong is because of him.
The other one's his old flame, I guess. We get along pretty well too."
"I see." Taeyeon nodded in understanding.
"That Shakky lady seemed really nice, by the way. She even gave me a free juice. Though it wasn't as good as what Salar makes."
Shirakawa's face twitched. Shakky, looking like a nice person?
She'd almost certainly already added that juice to his tab.
"Yeah, she's… alright. But remember—never call her 'auntie' to her face."
"Why not?"
"Because if you do, she'll give you a firsthand experience of what it's like to live in terror."
"Oh. Okay."
Though still a bit confused, Taeyeon decided to just listen to Shirakawa.
"But if I can't call her auntie, then what? Don't tell me I should call her 'granny.'"
Having settled on that idea, Taeyeon nodded to herself in satisfaction. Next time she saw her, she'd go with "granny."
/-\
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